Chef Profile
Chef Julien Royer
Chef-Owner, Odette
Singapore
Recognised by the MICHELIN Guide with three stars and ranked No. 25 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants (2025).
Modern French cuisine shaped by terroir, seasonality, and more than fifteen years living in Asia.
Now bringing his philosophy of produce-driven cuisine to the polar regions.
The Story
From Cantal, France,
to the edge of the world.
Born into a family of fourth-generation farmers in Cantal, Julien Royer spent his childhood foraging and harvesting in his family's backyard. His culinary foundation was built under the legendary Michel Bras in Laguiole, where he developed a deep respect for the integrity of each ingredient.
In 2015, he opened Odette at the National Gallery Singapore, named in tribute to his grandmother. It debuted at No. 9 on Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, the highest new entry ever recorded.
Today, Odette holds three MICHELIN Stars and a consistent place among the world's finest restaurants.
For Julien, cuisine is not performance. It is memory, place, and the quiet pleasure of a shared meal.
Recognition
A three-MICHELIN-starred chef, celebrated by the world's most respected culinary institutions.
Holder of three MICHELIN Stars since 2019, Julien Royer has built one of the most consistently acclaimed restaurants in the world.
Since opening Odette in 2015, he has earned recognition from institutions, critics, and peers worldwide, including the Estrella Damm Chefs' Choice Award (2023), the only peer-voted accolade in The World's 50 Best Restaurants programme.
Philosophy
Cuisine as a dialogue between memory, terroir, and the present moment.
Julien's cuisine is rooted in the French tradition, shaped by the farms, forests, and seasons of his Cantal childhood. Every dish begins with the ingredient at its peak, sourced from boutique producers he has spent years building relationships with.
Living in Asia for over fifteen years has introduced a new language of texture and flavour to his work.
Bringing this philosophy to the Arctic opens a new dialogue:
How does lightness respond to cold?
How does French refinement translate to the edge of the world?
"Cooking in the Arctic asks questions that the kitchen alone cannot answer."
— Julien Royer
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ODETTE, SINGAPORE
A modern French restaurant at the heart of one of the world's great cities.
Opened in 2015 at the National Gallery Singapore, Odette is Julien Royer's first restaurant and the one closest to his vision. Named for his grandmother, it carries her belief that a meal should be delivered with warmth, intention, and genuine hospitality.
The menu evolves constantly, guided by seasonality and the finest artisanal produce from around the world.
One of the most awarded restaurants in Asia, consistently recognised for cuisine, hospitality, and a sense of place.
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Polar Expeditions
With Polar Table, Julien Royer hosts a curated Arctic journey.
In Svalbard, light lingers over ice and water.
Glaciers breathe into fjords.
Life moves along the edge of the ice.
Each evening, the day's landscape finds its way to the table.
